A Heart Most Worthy

Resumo

Multiple Christy Award finalist Siri Mitchell is critically acclaimed for her sweeping historical romances. Setting this tale in 1918 Boston against the backdrop of the Great War and the influenza pandemic, Mitchell contrasts the traditional Italian upbringing of three young ladies with the bustling American lifestyle they crave. As they toil in an elegant gown shop, Julietta, Annamaria, and Lucianna hope one day to embrace the American dream and find true love.

“Another great historical novel by a wonderful author …”—Romantic Times Book Reviews

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A Heart Most Worthy follows the lives of three young Italian women who all work in a dressmakers' shop, each plying their own highly refined and specialized skills. There seems to be a bit of a popular trend in Christian historical fiction following the lives of Italians in New York in the early 1900s, so if you've read one of those books recently, you'll have a good idea of the settings contained within.Now, normally I LOVE Siri Mitchell's work. She is on my list of authors who I must read when a new work comes out. So, I was very disappointed that A Heart Most Worthy just isn't up to the level of the fine writing she has presented in her other titles. She Walks in Beauty is an absolutely amazing book, and I was hoping that Mitchell would write something comparable in her latest novel.Unfortunately the diversity of characters, the omniscient point of view of the narrator (whom actually sound quite condescending although I'm sure those asides are meant to be humorous), and the shallow treatment of the subject matter and character development all left me wanting.My favorite character was Annamaria, her love story is so sweet and actually fairly realistic if you believe in sweet, innocent love stories (I loved her thread of the story). Julietta never did really seem to grow up.From another author I may not have been as disappointed. But from Siri Mitchell? I'm afraid I was. Please, please, don't write from an omniscient point of view again, it really does jerk the reader right out of the story when the narrator pops in with some odd comments that don't really move the story along or tell the reader anything that they can't figure out by inference.Disclosure: I received a review copy of this title.Reviewed at quiverfullfamily.com

Siri Mitchell's books always seem to have the most beautiful covers, and, like the last one I read, She Walks in Beauty,I was originally attracted to this book for the cover alone. Before I read the book, I skipped to the back and read the "Note to the Reader," which detailed the historical background of the book, referencing the Great Italian Emigration and the Spanish Influenza. This perked my interest in the book even more so, since I did not know anything about these references before this book. The Italian aspect also interested me since I have some Italian blood in me.One of the first thoughts that occurred to me when I began the book was how little the three girls and their separate subplots had in common. The characters do not seem to intersect at all, and all three girls are very different from one another, with the exception of the dress shop. It felt almost like three different stories that the author took turns telling. As the book progresses, that proves to be incorrect, as the different characters intersect in the most unusual ways, such as one of girl's love interest driving the delivery truck for the shop where another girl's love interest works. This aspect of the book became the most interesting for me, since Mitchell does not make a big deal of pointing out where the connections are, and I enjoyed tracking them.The owner of the dress shop, Madame Fortier, had her own subplot as well, but I was a bit dissatisfied with how hers played out, since very little about her circumstances changed - even though it was this that made her unhappy in the first place.All three girls were very likable for her own reasons, though each one's subplot ended somewhat differently. Luciana seemed to get the best deal of the three girls, though all were very happy by the end. Annamaria's ending was bittersweet, but it gave the reality of the Spanish Influenza more impact. I did not like Julietta overly much in the beginning, but the lessons she learned made me like her that much more by the end.Overall, the book was at times intriguing, romantic, suspenseful, and even frustrating, but it was definitely worth the read.

Fleeing from anarchist that had murdered her father Luciana seeks refuge in Boston's north end among immigrants and peasants. There she tries to leave behind her nobility and forget the privileges of that rank and life. She seeks to blend and be unnoticed in the dirty, overpopulated streets of the north end. Each day she spends her energy staying hidden ever searching for the murderous man that is hunting her down. In dire straights she seeks employment to make a meager living. By divine appointment she finds herself in Madame Fortier's shop. Little does she know how her life will soon be entwined in Madame's (who is also holding a secret that drives her). On that day she had no way of knowing that her employment would lead to the freedom of Madame to be herself, nor did she know that this place of employment would lead to her being found by her enemy and in her finding love. In this building Luciana finds herself two unlikely friends - Julietta and Annamaria. Both of these girls are also on the road of reconciling who they want to be and what is expected of them to be. This book is endearing from the start. One can not help but feel as if you know each of these girls. I really enjoyed Siri Mitchel's writing style as it reminded me of Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott in different ways. Most certainly worth the read I highly recommend it.Thank you Bethany House Publishing for this review copy.

I would like to thank Bethany House Publishers for giving me this book to read and review. It was a pleasure to read. This book is considered a historical fiction and it lived up to that title. I felt a deeper understanding of the Great Italian Emigration to America during the early 1900's. The lifestyles, their way of thinking, their religion, and their struggles. I also really like the way it was written; as an "omniscient point of view". It was very well done and different than the way most books are written and I enjoyed it very much.This was a story of 3 young ladies working in Boston in 1918 in Madame Fortier's dress shop. You get to know and understand where each of the girls live, how they think, what they are going through and how each of them handle "falling in love". Julietta in the outspoken one who has great plans and "loves" a little too easily. Annamaria is the quiet one who feels she has no future where love and marriage are concerned. And Luciana is the one with a secretive past that could bring danger to anyone who gets close to her. You will enjoy getting to know each one of these girls and their lifestyles. Even Madame Fortier has a history you will come to understand. Although this book was not a page turner for me where I couldn't stop reading to see what happened next, I did find myself enjoying the story and learning something of a time in history that I had very little knowledge of. It was a very satisfying book to me.

This story is set in 1918; three young Italian immigrant women are working in a Boston dress shop. Julietta enjoys flirting with the boys, and wishes she were American instead of Italian. She begins a romance with a handsome and mysterious stranger and soon finds herself in over her head.Annamaria is the eldest girl in her family, and is expected to remain unmarried so that she can help take care of the family, and her parents when they reach old age. She has always been a dutiful daughter, but she can't help but wonder why she can't have a life for herself, especially when she finds herself falling for the son of the Sicilian grocer across the street, and her parents are also very prejudiced against Sicilians.Luciana escaped Italy with her grandmother after the assassination of her father, the Count of Roma, and they had to leave everything behind. Money is running out, and Luciana gets a job at the dress shop doing bead work to put food on the table, but who will look after her grandmother while she is working? She also know the anarchist who killed her father is also in Boston, looking for her.I really enjoyed this story, it was the perfect blend of history and romance. The romances were believable in the way they unfolded, and sweetly done, but not saccharine. The history of that time and place was well done, incorporating the effects of World War I on society, and the Spanish Flu epidemic. I enjoyed reading about Italian culture in America; it was interesting to learn that many of the Italians kept within their own groups depending upon which region of Italy they were from, and there was prejudice among the different groups, with Sicilians being the most scorned.I liked how the girls all came from very different families, but they way they formed friendships happened very naturally and was believable.